Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall as investors assess Australia inflation data

This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets.

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly down Wednesday after key Wall Street benchmarks rose overnight, with the Nasdaq Composite closing at a record high as tech stocks gained.

Traders in Asia assessed consumer price data out of Australia, with headline inflation for the September quarter rising 2.8% year on year, the lowest since the first quarter of 2021. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to be at 2.9%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day down 0.83% to reach 8,180.4.

China is considering approving next week over 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) in extra debt to stimulate its economy over the next few years, Reuters reported. The fiscal package is expected to be increased if Donald Trump wins the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the report added.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 1.65% at 20,358 as of its final hour of trading. China's CSI 300 closed 0.90% lower to end at 3,889.45.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.96% to end the day at 39,277.39. Meanwhile, the Topix advanced 0.81% to close at 2,703.72.

The Bank of Japan kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the central bank to keep interest rates steady at 0.25%.

South Korea's Kospi fell 0.92% to 2,593.79, while the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 0.80% to 738.19.

In the U.S., the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.78% to close at a record high of 18,712.75.

The S&P 500 added 0.16% to close at 5,832.92, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.52 points, or 0.36%, to end at 42,233.05.

— CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Alex Harring contributed to this report.

Standard Chartered shares rise in Hong Kong on upgraded forecast, profit beat

Shares in Standard Chartered rose after the bank raised its 2024 income forecast and as its third-quarter profit beat estimates on the strength of its wealth management division.

The company's shares were trading 2.7% higher in Hong Kong, defying broader losses with the Hang Seng Index down 1.8%.

Standard Chartered reported a quarterly pre-tax profit of $1.81 billion, above LSEG SmartEstimate of $1.59 billion. Profit rose 37% from a year earlier.

Read the full story here

— Lee Ying Shan, Dylan Butts

Japan Exchange Group CEO says Japanese market is 'open and also transparent' for investors

While some investors are saying that the Japanese dealmaking market is closed off, this is not true Hiromi Yamaji, CEO of Japan Exchange Group told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

"As a market operator, we are open for everybody," he said, adding that recent M&A activity in the country proves that the market is open and transparent for investors.

— Dylan Butts

Chinese automotive stocks fall after EU slaps China with EV tariffs

The European Union raised tariffs on China-made electric vehicles to as high as 45.3%, concluding an anti-subsidy probe that had divided member states and prompted counter measures from Beijing.

A number of Chinese EV stocks were down, including Nio, which fell about 6%; Geely, which fell about 4.7%; and Li Auto, which fell 2.6%.

The new duties will range from 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for China-based SAIC, on top of the EU's existing 10% car import duty.

— Dylan Butts

Japan's Ishiba likely to run a 'precarious, fragile' minority government: Japan Foresight

Tobias Harris, founder and principal of Japan Foresight, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that Japan's new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to rule the country in a "precarious, fragile" minority government after the Liberal Democratic Party and its longtime partner Komeito lost the majority in a snap parliamentary election.

— Dylan Butts

Political situation aside, it's not time to sell Japan stocks, says DBS chief economist

Despite political uncertainty arising from Japan's latest parliamentary elections, now is not a time to sell Nikkei, DBS chief economist Taimur Baig told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia." 

"Independent of the political dynamic, for once, since I started covering Japan more than two decades ago, there's a lot of tailwind in the economy," he said, adding that a weak yen has revitalized Japan's manufacturing sector. 

"Japanese entrepreneurs and manufacturers play a fairly critical role in the emerging tech stack around the world on robotics and green transition and so on. I think that Japanese company earnings ... will remain robust, and I'm not going to be a seller of the Nikkei." 

— Dylan Butts

Australia's September-quarter inflation slows to lowest since early 2021

Australia's third-quarter consumer price inflation slowed to its lowest rate since early 2021 as electricity and gasoline prices fell.

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, annual inflation fell to 2.8%, down from 3.8% the previous quarter, bringing it back within the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2%-3% target range.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast annual inflation rate of 2.9%.

Trimmed mean annual inflation, which excludes price movements in volatile items such as oil, came in at 3.5%, down from 4% in the June quarter.

—Dylan Butts

China’s property market is expected to stabilize in 2025 — but stay subdued for years

Despite Beijing's latest stimulus measures, China's distressed property market may not start turning around until the second half of 2025, according to analysts.

Goldman Sachs analysts predicted in an Oct. 22 note that property prices in China will stabilize in late 2025, and rise by an average of 2% two years later.  Meanwhile, Goldman forecast that property sales and new home construction are unlikely to stabilize until 2027.

S&P Global Ratings and Morgan Stanley also published reports this month forecasting that China's real estate market will bottom out in the second half of next year.

Read the full report here.

— Evelyn Cheng, Anniek Bao, Dylan Butts

CNBC Pro: These stocks and bonds are set to win from the U.K.'s budget, analysts say

The U.K.'s Labour Party is set to unveil its government budget for the first time in 14 years later today.

U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves is expected to end months of speculation about the government's intention to raise taxes, change rules, and borrow to support long-term investment.

Investment bank analysts have highlighted several stocks that could win or lose if the rumored measures are unveiled or curtailed.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the stocks impacted here.

— Ganesh Rao

CNBC Pro: 'Absurdly cheap': Bottom-up investor names Japan sectors — and stocks — to invest in right now

Japanese markets have made steady gains this week - and one bottom-up investor sees potential for it to advance even further.

"When we look at Japan — it's very difficult not to be bullish on stocks. Because even companies that are struggling in terms of earnings have depressed valuations and may not see a drastic fall in their stock price even if earnings are weak," Mio Kato, founder of capital markets firm LightStream Research, said.

"When we look at the valuations of a lot of companies, they look absurdly cheap," he added.

Kato also revealed sectors - and stocks - he is betting on right now.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

U.S. crude oil edges lowers after worst day in two years

U.S. crude oil edged lower on Tuesday, one day after posting the worst daily loss in two years.

The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate contract fell 17 cents, or 0.25%, to $67.21 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent slipped 30 cents, or 0.42%, to $71.12 per barrel.

Energy traders breathed a sigh of relief this week after Israel's long-anticipated retaliatory strikes on Iran last Friday spared the Islamic Republic's oil and nuclear facilities. The benchmark U.S. crude oil contract sold off more than 6%, or $4.40, to $67.38 per barrel on Monday.

Oil prices have shed more than 6% so far this week.

— Spencer Kimball

The dollar's value could wane under a Trump presidency, investor warns

Some investors believe that under a Trump presidency, higher interest rates and inflation could lead to a more expensive dollar. But Erik Knutzen, co-chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman's Multi-Asset Strategies, says that the dollar could actually decline under a Trump administration.

"The dollar did rally through the end of the year after the surprise win of Trump in 2016, but the dollar declined in value for 2017 when Trump was enacting the policies that were supposedly going to be more inflationary and cause higher interest rates," he said on CNBC's "The Exchange" on Tuesday afternoon. "Trump and his cohort actually would like to see a weaker dollar to support the American economy. Yes, the dollar may have some short-term impetus, but frankly you could probably fade that trade if Trump is not elected."

Knutzen added that the dollar will probably weaken in the near term in the scenario that Trump loses the November election.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Chipmakers rise Tuesday

Semiconductor stocks rose broadly on Tuesday.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 1.7% on the day. Nvidia advanced 0.7%, while Super Micro Computer and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer gained 2.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

Gold hits fresh record high

Gold futures scaled to a fresh intraday high on Tuesday, reaching $2,783.10 per ounce.

The precious metal has been on a tear recently, soaring more than 4% over the past month. Over the past three months, it's up 17%.

— Fred Imbert